Achieving responsive customer service can be fraught with difficulties when working from home. One of the recommended solutions is real-time customer service, but what is it and how does it work? Read on to find out.
The Janus-Face Paradox
Many organisations find themselves in what researchers call a Janus-Face situation. This is where they know that they need to focus more on customer service, but don’t have the resources or capability to do so. The result is a lose-lose situation. Customers are dissatisfied and companies suffer an often-irreparable PR dent. For SMEs, this can be particularly frustrating, especially as their failure to provide the customer service that they intend is rarely down to choice. Instead, poor communication systems are the culprit.
Real Support
Chatbots are making a big difference to customer service. However, they are still evolving, and for the baby boomer generation, in particular, AI cannot replace a phone. What customers really want is the ability to communicate with someone who can help them directly, and this type of support requires real-time communication. Companies understand this, which is why call centres have traditionally been such an important investment. However, with the Covid crisis shutting off these avenues of communication, organisations are searching for improved solutions.
Freeing The Geographical Ties
Office-based employees with desktop computers and landline phones have long been considered to be a vital factor in customer service provision. Thankfully, the versatility of the cloud has overridden this notion. Using a secure portal, service agents can use any of their devices – mobile, tablet, laptop, or even games console – to take the call. This enables companies to provide consistent customer service, even when the geographical location of employees is haphazard.
Accessing The Information
To provide top-quality customer service, the person answering the phone needs to be able to access information. This might be a case of chasing up an email, looking through a customer’s account history, or checking available stock. Cloud-based telecoms systems are designed to give operatives access to whatever information they need, from any location, without interrupting the call.
Guidance And Coaching
Customer service is a constantly evolving art, and this requires software that can keep pace. Features such as automatic voice transcription and AI prompting can help representatives improve their responses, whilst managers can be immediately alerted to requests for assistance. For remote-working companies, this increases the level of professionalism that they offer. For customers, it provides reassurance that their query can be dealt with effectively. For everyone involved, the insights collected mean that organisations can align their products and services to customer needs, increasing satisfaction.
What Next?
If your clients are looking towards the next generation of customer service, real-time is the answer. To learn more about how the cloud can make this happen, speak with one of our business telecoms specialists today.
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